


Armed and Dangerous

by Skye_Willows



Series: Take Aim [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Human, Dark Comedy, Gavin Reed is a Little Shit, I love sassy North, M/M, Mild Gore (but our boys are fine!), RK900 is Richard, They're Ruthless But Soft Too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:22:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22723888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skye_Willows/pseuds/Skye_Willows
Summary: Richard is known for being infinitely patient, but one 'acquaintance' from his line of work knows the way to push all of his buttons.When said acquaintance makes off with something important, Richard has to track the other man down.There's a fine line between hate and love, and sometimes it's hard to tell which side of it you land on without a little helping hand.
Relationships: Background Hank Anderson/Connor, Hinted former Hank Anderson/Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: Take Aim [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680430
Comments: 5
Kudos: 88
Collections: Hankcon and Other Ships Valentines Exchange





	Armed and Dangerous

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Stujet9rainshine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stujet9rainshine/gifts).



> Valentine's Exchange time! I was lucky enough to be writing for one of my best friends in the fandom yet again, so I hope you like this little dark comedy!
> 
> Stu, I hope you adore this hun. It was an absolutely pleasure writing for you again, even if I went a bit outside your prompts!

Richard was a man known for his seemingly infinite patience – there was a reason he’d been nicknamed the ‘Watchman’ in his organisation. As someone who would often spend days or weeks studying a target before making his move, Richard was not one to be easily riled. Even his current prey’s yelping and crying was not anything of note, nor was it close to getting under his skin.

“Oh, well isn’t this a surprise? It’s my favourite tree.”

 _That_ voice, however, was one which always notched Richard’s annoyance up a few levels.

Heaving out a great sigh as he turned from the man bound and gagged to the pillar in front of him, Richard made a show of cleaning his knife while turning to his new company. “Reed, what the fuck are you doing here? This is my target, piss off.”

A snicker was all the warning Richard had before a gunshot went off right next to him. The hitman rolled his eyes when his target started screaming in agony courtesy of a now shattered kneecap.

Fucking Gavin, he always has to ruin Richard’s carefully calculated plans. Now how was he going to dangle not carving pieces out of his target’s body as a bargaining chip?

“Thank you for that,” Richard drawled in annoyance as Gavin sidled up next to him, smirking in that cocky way of his.

“You’re welcome, dipshit. Ruining your day always brightens mine,” Gavin chirped while spinning around and striding away, coming to a stop next to the writhing prisoner. “Honest answer is I got bored of watching you try to break this asshole. You practicing your lingchi?”

“I’m honestly astounded you know what that is,” the taller man huffed while wandering over to his case of ‘supplies’, cleaning off the knife. He didn’t know whether to be impressed that Gavin had actually recognised his intention, or annoyed that he’d announced it to the target. It wouldn’t be a viable information tactic now.

Gavin laughed while elbowing the bound man right in the solar plexus, winding him before flipping his hand back to connect square with the other man’s nose. “That’s more like it, looks like he’s been properly interrogated now,” the smaller man grinned while sauntering away to a nearby wall. When Richard eyed him disdainfully, Gavin shrugged. “Come on, you’d been at him for six hours. At least make it look like you’d been putting in some effort.”

Richard sighed in aggravation while pulling out a branding iron. Both he and Gavin ignored how their captive’s eyes widened upon seeing a switch be flicked on the end which began to heat it. “There are already 89 fine marks across his body, I work a little more _subtly_ than some people,” he said pointedly, to which Gavin dramatically clasped his hand over his heart.

“Oh, you wound me so! You know how I get with compliments, Stern.” The taller man chose to not dignify the response with an answer, instead pulling out a battery pack and some cables from his pack. Gavin whistled when he saw the two ends be brought together and spark. “Now you’re speaking my language – what charge you packing there?”

“None of your damn business, Reed. Can’t you go bother someone else, I’m currently in the middle of a job here.” Richard could see how his target was on the verge of breaking and turned to point the cables at Gavin threateningly, who simply smirked back. “Unless you’d like to be my guinea pig?”

Gavin pretended to contemplate it. “I mean, I’m into some spicy stuff but I like to keep the messing with electrics to the bedroom. No one judges when your dick gets hard there,” he snickered, to which Richard scrunched his nose in disgust.

“You’re revolting,” the other man snapped while turning back to his target. Deciding to make a finishing move, Richard dropped on cable so that he could throw the branding iron to Gavin, the end now a searing red in colour. “Make yourself goddamn useful and pick a spot that will hurt – seeing as you’ve spoiled not only my plan but also my mood, I want this done and dusted.”

The other man had barely caught and twirled the iron around to admire it before their target finally caved. “Fuck, don’t!” he screamed. “8842! Use that for my phone and take what you want!”

Richard and Gavin paused, looking at each other for a moment before Gavin reached over for the phone which was sitting on a window ledge near him. After quickly entering the code, he contemplated the result for a second before shrugging. “Well there goes my fun,” he sighed before pulling out his gun and shooting their target through the head.

Sighing yet again in aggravation when the debris of their prisoner’s head exploding spattered on to his shoes, Richard disconnected the cables from the battery before beginning to pack up. “A little premature,” he stated, wrinkling his nose in surprise when he smelt the singed flesh. Turning around again, he was surprised to see that Gavin had indeed branded their now dead captive.

Having finished, Gavin shrugged while tossing the iron on the floor. “What? I know you like to leave your mark when you’re done,” he pointed out while grabbing some wipes to brush off various bodily fluids from his leather jacket. “Besides, we both know this phone’s a goddamn gold mine. Didn’t expect the bitch to cave that quick.”

“Your ham-fisted approach may actually have helped with that, ironically. The change of pace probably jarred him.” Not just their target, actually, but Richard wasn’t going to give Gavin that satisfaction.

Despite Richard’s attempts to dilute the compliment, Gavin still smirked like a Cheshire cat. “Well, that was unexpectedly sweet of you, Stern,” he taunted before twirling the phone in his hand playfully. “How about a little game for who gets to reap the rewards of this?”

That caused the other man to glare at Gavin. “Fuck off. He’s my target, I’m finishing my mission. Give it,” he barked, but Gavin elegantly dove out of the way when Richard tried to snatch the device. Gavin didn’t earn his nickname of the ‘Geyser’ for nothing – when he blew his top you were going to get burned, but he was just like water. There was no catching and holding him, he’d slip through your fingers every time. His past as a parkour artist lent him an unusual skill for a hitman in that it made him highly flexible with ridiculous reaction times.

It also meant that there was no chance of Richard ensnaring Gavin, which he hated. As long as Gavin had that phone, they were playing on his rules.

“Come on, dipshit, that’s no fun,” Gavin chimed while holding the phone just outside of Richard’s reach. “Tell you what, why don’t we make this a little game? Let’s see if you can keep up with me as I head on to my _actual_ assignment.” He pocketed the device and zipped it inside of his hoodie, stepping back with a casual smirk that Gavin knew would get right under Richard’s skin.

“Gavin, I’m not fucking around,” the taller man threatened. “Give me that phone.”

“Noooope, try harder!” Gavin knew Richard too well, having crossed paths as rival hitmen for several years from different organisations, and quickly dashed forward to kick the other man’s gun away. He’d had too many near misses with Richard’s no nonsense attitude. If something was interfering with the other man’s mission, he had spared no hesitations in putting it down.

With that threat away, Gavin ran for the door and saluted Richard mockingly. “Later, handsome!”

Richard snarled and fired at the door as Gavin slipped away. “Get back here, you shit!”

By the time he’d caught up and reached the opening, Gavin was long gone into the night.

Sighing deeply, Richard looked down and resigned himself to the fact it was going to be a long night. There was no way Gavin was going to make himself easy to find – that meant Richard was probably going to have to pull in a favour or two.

He just knew Connor was going to laugh his ass off about this one.

* * *

It wasn’t in fact Connor that gave Richard the most grief, even if his older brother was highly amused at how the taller Stern had lost the prize on their hit. Their boss was _much_ less sympathetic to their new situation.

“Richard, you better find that phone,” Markus had warned him. “The whole contract is dependent on that information being delivered uncompromised. Track down Reed, bring it back in one piece and then we can work on damage control. You might still get some cash out of this so long as the client doesn’t find out.”

Easy in theory, but Gavin was the slipperiest hitman he’d come across; and that was saying something given his brother was infamous for working his way out of close shaves. It was only now that he was tracking the other man down that Richard realised for the first time that he had absolutely _no_ clue where to start.

How was it that Gavin always managed to find him so easy? He wasn’t that obvious, was he?

Still, Richard had a job to complete. That meant tossing his pride out of the window so that he could get paid.

Calling in a favour, he trekked across the city to one of the ‘dive’ spots as the public would call it. Run down, full of drunks and junkies, no person in their right mind would linger there for fear of finding themselves on the wrong end of a knife or gun – which made it a perfect spot for the more ruthless characters of Detroit to conduct business.

After sitting at the bar, Richard cast a dismissive look to the man which bundled in on his right. He was clearly high as a kite and looking to get smashed off his face on top of it…which there was nothing wrong with, were he not bellowing at the top of his lungs with every yowl at the bartender.

Richard smirked lowly when the man’s antics earned a knife getting slammed down on the bar between his fingers. “Keep squealing like a cat, and I’ll plug your mouth with something that you’re not gonna want detached,” the woman snarled. When the man started mouthing off, he was quickly disposed of courtesy of the bouncer. Once that distraction was gone, the bartender smirked at Richard while taking her knife back and went back to pouring drinks.

“We haven’t seen you down here in a while, Nines,” she commented as the bouncer came back to lean against the bar to take the glass of whiskey that was slid his way. “Cheers, old man. How much of a pain was he?”

“None, you’d already made him shit his pants,” Hank informed them while downing the whiskey in one. After knocking it back, he smiled smugly at Richard. “Con told me you lost your loot.”

Groaning, Richard took a grateful drink of the wine which North set down in front of him. “Don’t get me fucking started,” he muttered darkly. “Of all people, it had to be Gavin-bastarding-Reed that snatched it out from under my nose. I’ve not the slightest idea how to track him down.”

Hank chuckled and pat the other man sympathetically on the back before spying something going on behind them. “Well, good luck, kiddo. Enjoy solving your mess, I’ve got some work to be doing,” the older man stated while straightening up again. “I’m sure Con’ll let me know whether Markus takes your head as compensation or not.”

“I’ll be sure to tell my brother that his boyfriend’s an unhelpful bastard, Hank!” Richard called after him, to which Hank flipped him off.

“The compliment’s sweet, Nines. Pour him a shot on me for that one, North,” Hank shouted back as he strode over to break up a pair of drunkards at the other end of the bar.

North shook her head fondly and poured out a vodka shot, pushing it towards Richard, who eyed it disdainfully. “Come on, I didn’t give you the shitty stuff,” she shrugged. “It’s the good burn, not the chemical burn.”

Richard sighed and knocked back the shot before looking at North seriously. “So, you’ll know why I’m down here then?” he asked, to which North winked.

“And here I thought it was just to parade that nice ass in front of me,” she snickered while cleaning a glass. When Richard glared at her, North raised an eyebrow. “Hey, don’t give me any shit or I’ll get Hank to toss your ass out too. I doubt you’d fight him too much given I know just how ruthless your brother is to anyone who hurts his man, and I think that would include even you.”

The hitman rolled his eyes and flung an envelope down on the bar. “$10k, cash, if you tell me where to find that shitbag Gavin,” he offered, watching North carefully as she eyed the envelope up.

“What makes you think I know that? Gavin’s infamous for being untraceable,” she asked slowly, gently spinning the open package to see the bills inside.

“Because you know everything, North,” Richard told her sincerely. “You know it all and guard that info close to your chest. I’ve never asked you to let any of it slip before but this is a _major_ contract. Please, I need this or Hank wasn’t kidding. I’m going to be next on Markus’ hit list.”

North stared at him for a moment before sliding the money back towards Richard. “I can’t help you, Nines,” she said regretfully. “You know I’m sweet on you, I’d tell you if I genuinely had any clue where Gavin was.” When Richard’s shoulders slumped, she looked over the floor pointedly. “There’s one man who might be able to help you, and he’s a lot closer to home than you’d think.”

Confused, Richard followed her line of sight to see it meet Hank, to which he spun back to her with a raised eyebrow. “Rumour is Hank and he were a thing a few years back,” she elaborated. “No idea if it’s true or not but Hank is your best bet. I’m not the only one with knowledge and contacts.”

Appreciative of her honesty, Richard took out some of the bills as he downed his wine and slipped them inside the glass, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “Pleasure as always, North,” he stated while walking away, to which North whistled at him.

“You been working out, Nines? I might have to change your nickname soon, your ass is almost worth a ten!” He smirked back at her, nodding as she slid the money into her shirt and waved him off.

Now he just had to hope that Hank could actually help.

* * *

Richard was surprised to learn not only that Hank knew where Gavin tended to hang out, he also knew where the other man _lived._ He had to wonder whether the rumour that North had told him about was true, but this wasn’t the time to dwell on it. Right now, he had a target to apprehend and take some intelligence back from.

Hank gave the information to him slightly reluctantly, but Richard finally had what he wanted and was fully prepared for a firefight. He loaded up and was prepared for a struggle when he reached Gavin’s apartment, but what he found taped to the door had him pausing.

A letter. With his name scribbled on the outside.

Scowling, he pulled it down and opened the envelope to find the paper inside.

Hey dipshit.

Hank said that you were on your way over, so I guess you’re after the phone? You guys weren’t the only ones with a contract for it, so you’re shit out of luck. My bad.

How about dinner on me as an apology? It is Valentine’s Day after all, and I ain’t got anybody to spend it with.

If you’re game, knock twice.

_What the fuck…?_

Beyond confused, Richard stared at the letter for another solid minute before the door opened in front of him. The hitman looked at Gavin in confusion and found himself stunned speechless at the sight of the other man.

He’d only ever seen Gavin in the field, a ruthless and snarky killer with an annoying tendency to get under his skin. So to find Gavin open his door wearing a soft purple hoodie and jeans, hair clearly sleep rumpled and the most gorgeous black, fluffy cat under one arm while his foot stopped another ginger cat from making an escape, Richard was more than a little thrown.

“Hey,” Gavin greeted softly. “I know I said to knock if you were keen, but when you were standing there looking lost as fuck, I guessed I might have broken you,” he chuckled as the ginger cat finally snuck out and started wandering around Richard’s legs. When the taller man still remained silent, Gavin scowled. “Oh come on, it’s not that shocking to know that I have a life beyond my day job, is it?”

Richard finally shook himself back to some sense and looked down to the cat at his feet, contemplating stroking it. “Tigger won’t bite, so you can pick her up and come inside,” Gavin sighed. “It’s fucking freezing out here.”

Taking the hint, Richard picked up the cat - surprised when she purred at the embrace – and suddenly found himself staring at a candlelit apartment. It was spacious and warm, with…yes, he was counting it right, _nine_ cats wandering around. That was on top of the one in each of their arms. He looked around in awe to see two plates of food at a dining table with a bottle of Richard’s favourite red wine, along with a small bouquet of roses set between the two chairs.

“I thought you said you didn’t have anyone to spend the night with,” Richard said softly, to which Gavin blushed.

“I don’t…unless you decide to stay and join me,” he muttered, to which Richard’s bring short circuited.

“What?” he asked in disbelief.

Gavin sighed and put the other cat down to stare at Richard openly. “Why do you think I’m always trying to get your attention, dipshit? I like you. And I don’t just mean that I think you’re fun to mess around with, which you are entirely _way_ too much fun to rile up, I also mean I…you’re fucking hot, and you’ve got the whole badass vibe going on. You tick all the boxes for me, and I’m kinda tired of trying to get you to notice,” he admitted. “Even your fucking brother twigged, and he’s seen us interact all of twice?”

Richard gaped at that one. “Connor figured that out?”

“Yeah, he and Hank told me where your latest contract was sending you so that I could hijack it. This whole ‘run-around’…their idea.” Gavin chuckled. “Apparently Connor was fed up with your moaning about me, and Hank was done with my bitching that I was getting nowhere with you.”

Still surprised, Richard looked at Gavin a little differently. He’d always thought the other man set out to annoy him because Gavin was a spiteful bastard, and he’d hated him in return. To find out that it was…almost playful, but terrible, flirting was more than a little shocking. “You didn’t feel like simply saying something to me?” was the best he could come up with, to which Gavin gave him a look.

“Have you seen yourself? You’re an intimidating, fucking tank with an ice wall around you. Dicking around with you at work is easy – being open and leaving myself vulnerable to you? Whole other ball game. It’s why…” Gavin tailed off, to which Richard stepped closer to him and drank in the sight of Gavin beyond the mask of his job. It was endearing, warm. Something and someone that had Richard curious.

“It’s why?” Richard prompted, to which Gavin sighed.

“I’ve liked you for seven years,” Gavin admitted. “Got to the point where I’d accepted it wasn’t ever going to happen, just something to carry around with me till I bit the dust.”

“And yet this, tonight?” the taller man asked softly, tipping Gavin’s head up so that their eyes met.

Gavin blushed and pulled his head free, looking down again. “Hank and Connor came up with this plan. I just had to steal the phone to get you to come looking, they’re the masterminds behind all this.”

Richard laughed softly and tilted Gavin’s head towards him again. “I didn’t realise that either of them were such good actors. I’ll have to thank them later,” he whispered before capturing Gavin’s lips with his own.

The smaller man moaned lightly into the soft kiss, which paused only for the pair of them to take a deeper breath before diving back in. It wasn’t desperate or sloppy, but slow, long and wanting. Richard hadn’t realised until then that he’d always reacted to Gavin so strongly out of attraction, as well as irritation.

When they parted, Richard smiled at the other man. “I guess we’d better not let the food get cold,” he murmured warmly.

“That’s what a fucking microwave is for, dipshit. I’m a bit busy making up for lost time,” he muttered before pulling Richard into a much fiercer kiss.

Well, when Gavin put it that way…

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed!
> 
> If you want to see my big news, have a look on my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/SkyeWillows) and [Tumblr](https://skyewillows.tumblr.com) to see the new writing website that I'm uploading to with some immensely talented authors!
> 
> See you all next time!


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